Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 38

Devanagari script

न षोडशांशं यत्नेन लब्धार्थं यदि यच्छति । पंचमांशमथो वापि दद्यात्तत्र द्विजातिषु

Transliteration

na ṣoḍaśāṃśaṃ yatnena labdhārthaṃ yadi yacchati | paṃcamāṃśamatho vāpi dadyāttatra dvijātiṣu

Translation

Si l’on n’offre pas même le seizième de la richesse acquise par l’effort, qu’au moins l’on donne là un cinquième, parmi les dvija, les « deux-fois-nés ».

Word by Word

• न: not
• न: Sambandha (Negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (निषेध-अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• षोडशांशम्: a sixteenth share
• षोडशांशम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: षोडश (संख्या) + अंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्विगु-समास; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यत्नेन: with effort
• यत्नेन: Karana (Means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यत्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन (with effort)

• लब्धार्थम्: obtained wealth
• लब्धार्थम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लब्ध (√लभ् + क्त) + अर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष: लब्धः अर्थः यस्य/लब्धः अर्थः (obtained wealth); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; 'wealth obtained' (object of यच्छति)

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Conditional)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: शर्तार्थक-अव्यय (if)

• यच्छति: gives
• यच्छति: Kriya (Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √यम् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (present), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; (he gives)

• पञ्चमांशम्: a fifth share
• पञ्चमांशम्: Karma (Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चम (क्रम/संख्या-प्रातिपदिक) + अंश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष: पञ्चमः अंशः; पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन (a fifth share)

• अथो: then; otherwise
• अथो: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय) + उ (निपात)
• Form: निपातसमुदाय; विकल्प/अनन्तरार्थे (then/otherwise)

• वा: or
• वा: Sambandha (Disjunction)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा (अव्यय)
• Form: विकल्पार्थक-अव्यय (or)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अप्यर्थक-अव्यय (also/even)

• दद्यात्: should give
• दद्यात्: Kriya (Injunctive/Prescription)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दा (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), परस्मैपद; प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (he should give)

• तत्र: there; in that case
• तत्र: Adhikarana (Context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (there/in that matter)

• द्विजातिषु: among the twice-born
• द्विजातिषु: Adhikarana (Location/Domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजाति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन (among the twice-born)

Speaker

Skanda (as narrator of Prabhāsa-māhātmya)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Prabhāsa-kṣetra

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A pilgrim at Prabhāsa measures out coins/grain in fractional portions before offering to dvijas; the scene highlights careful accounting as a sacred act, not mere commerce.

Characters & Entities

• Prabhāsa Kṣetra
• Dvijāti

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

At a tīrtha, charity should be generous and proportionate to one’s gains; giving sustains dharma and multiplies merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The teaching is framed within Prabhāsa Kṣetra’s tīrtha-mahātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

A guideline for dāna: offer at least a fraction of one’s earnings—ideally a sixteenth, or even a fifth—especially to dvijātis.